Cordoba, Spain
City population: 329259
Duration: pre-1990 – ongoing
Implementation status: Ongoing
Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level, Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Project area: unknown
Type of area: Residential, Building, Other
Last updated: October 2021

There is an old tradition to preserve the wall gardens and patios in the center of Cordoba. Every year, the Festival of the Courtyards of Cordoba opens the courtyards to the public and various prizes are awarded to residents based on the plant and floral arrangement of the patios, bars, and balconies. This festival was declared as a UNESCO Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2012. (Ref. 2,3)

Courtyards Cordoba 1
Source: Ref. 2

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Nature on buildings (external)
  • Green walls or facades
  • Balcony greens

Key challenges

  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Environmental education
  • Social cohesion
  • Social interaction
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation
  • Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
  • Tourism support
  • Employment/job creation
  • Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
  • Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure
  • Promotion of cultural diversity
  • Preservation of historic traditions

Focus

Maintenance and management of urban nature, Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Other

Project objectives

-‘The Festival of the Courts of Cordoba promotes the function of the courtyard as an intercultural meeting place and promotes a sustainable collective way of life, based on the establishment of solid social bonds and networks of solidarity and exchanges between neighbors, while stimulating knowledge and respect for nature.’ (Ref. 3) -Attract tourists to develop tourism (Ref. 5,8,9) -Revive traditions of this cultural heritage of Córdoba (Ref. 5)

Implementation activities

-"Since 1921, the Town Hall has organised a competition of Courtyards and Crosses in the first week of May, and the owners decorate their houses with great care to try and win the prestigious award offered by the authorities." (Ref. 2) -"DISCOVER THE CORDOBESES PATIOS" is an accompanied visit that aims to offer a global vision of the culture of the courtyards, with an itinerary through a selection of popular houses and courtyards, winners of various prizes in the municipal contest. Duration approximately 2 hours. (Ref. 1) -"Activities such as Meet the Patios de Córdoba 2016, will also increase the number of visitors in children's age, as it aims this year to bring the tradition of the courtyards to more than 7,600 schoolchildren, energizing with another type of public that, in short, will be the one in charge to maintain this tradition in a future." (Ref. 7) - From 2016, hire new people for management of access to the Festival of Patios (Ref. 8) - Biannual Conference on the Patios of Cordoba (Ref. 5) - Annual Exhibition on Art that is inspired by or carried out on the patios (Ref. 5)

Main beneficiaries

  • Local government/Municipality
  • Citizens or community groups
  • Young people and children

Governance

Management set-up

  • Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • Local government/municipality
  • Citizens or community group
  • District/neighbourhood association

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
  • Co-management/Joint management
  • Citizen oversight (e.g. boards, advisory)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

Municipal Officials and Companies: - "the Town Hall has organised a competition of Courtyards and Crosses in the first week of May, and the owners decorate their houses with great care to try and win the prestigious award offered by the authorities."(Ref. 2) - City Council contributes to organization and financing of the festival (Ref. 8) - 1M investment from municipal housing company Vimcorsa ‘to help the patios continue in the best possible conditions and to help others to improve with rehabilitation aid’ (Ref. 8) National Government: -Project sponsored by the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Enterprise of Spain (Ref. 1) EU: -Project financed with FEDER Funds (Ref. 1) Citizens/ Residents: -The citizens are also the main actors in this initiative as they are the ones competing and decorating who created the association of the "Patios Cordobese". "In the first years of the association, their efforts were almost exclusively aimed at raising the awareness of the City Council that it was necessary to promote not only the Festival of the courtyards but also the aid to the caretakers of courtyards because in the end they are the ones who keep the contest alive". (Ref. 5) -Volunteers & Access Controllers: festival operations (Ref. 8) NGOs/ Civil Society: Red Cross & Civil Protection: to manage responses to health – such as cases of fainting or dizziness due to high temperatures (Ref. 8)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Unknown

Financing

Total cost

€500,000 - €2,000,000

Source(s) of funding

  • EU funds
  • Public local authority budget
  • Private Foundation/Trust

Type of funding

  • Earmarked public budget
  • Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
  • Donations

Non-financial contribution

Type of non-financial contribution
  • Provision of goods
  • Provision of labour
  • Provision of expertise
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
  • Citizens (e.g. volunteering)

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased green space area

Economic impacts

  • Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
  • More sustainable tourism
  • Generation of income from NBS

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved social cohesion
  • Improved access to urban green space
  • Increased opportunities for social interaction
  • Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
  • Cultural heritage and sense of place
  • Promotion of cultural diversity
  • Improvement in people’s connection to nature
  • Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
  • Increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging
  • Increased awareness of flora and fauna as culturally and historically meaningful
  • Education
  • Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts, Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Yes

Presence of indicators used in reporting

Yes

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

1. Asociación de Patios “Claveles y Gitanillas” (2019). DESCUBRIR LOS PATIOS CORDOBESES. [Website being updated in 2020].
2. Anon. (n.d). The Courtyards (Patios), World Heritage. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 17 September 2020].
3. Gobierno de Espana. (2012). Festivals of the Patios de Córdoba. Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial, UNESCO. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 17 September 2020].
4. Asociación de Patios Cordobeses (2017). "Información Concurso de los Patios de Córdoba 2017". [Not available in 2020].
5. Asociación de Patios “Claveles y Gitanillas” (2019). "HISTORY OF THE ASSOCIATION". Source link. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 17 September 2020].
6. Miranda, Luis (2017). "PARTY OF THE COURTS 2017". Source link. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 17 September 2020].
7. Cordobapie (n.d). "Increases the number of visitors of the Patios de Córdoba". Source link. [Not available in 2020].
8. Europe press (2015). "Increase by 20% visits to the Patios de Córdoba". Source link. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 17 September 2020].
9. Moreno, Eloy (2017). "The City will propose that the Patios count more days with controllers". Source link. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 17 September 2020].
10. Cordoba24. (n.d.). Patio Festival (Courtyard Festival): Fiesta de los Patios 2020. Source link. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 17 September 2020].
Courtyards Cordoba 2
Source: Ref. 3
Courtyards Cordoba 3
Source: Ref. 3